


and I took you by the hand

by RainbowRandomness



Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 5+1 Things, Budapest, F/M, First Meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-04
Updated: 2014-10-04
Packaged: 2018-02-19 22:01:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2404403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowRandomness/pseuds/RainbowRandomness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint sees Natasha four times before he actually meets her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and I took you by the hand

**Author's Note:**

> This literally came out of nowhere. One moment I'm looking at Clintasha fanart to try and find a cover for a Clintasha mix I'm gonna make and suddenly I've managed to write 1,000+ words about how Clint and Natasha met. And all in notepad too, I think that's impressive.
> 
> I really love Clintasha, I really really do. Still surprised I managed to write a Clintasha before writing a Stucky fic, but there you go. Hope you guys enjoy.
> 
> Title from the song _After The Storm_ by Mumford  & Sons

**1**

The first time he sees her, their eyes catch across a crowded room and her red lips tilt up into a smirk. Her red hair is long and pinned up, held together by a gorgeous pin that sparkles when the light hits it. Her dress hugs her slim frame, golden in colour and slit up to her thigh on the left side, showing off long legs that appear to go on forever. She catches his eye and takes a sip from the tall, dainty glass held within her gloved grasp and he cannot look away. It is almost as if time stands still, the room filled with people and noise fading away until all he can see is her, silhouetted in a golden glow across the room from him.

He straightens his spine, wondering if he should go over and talk to her when a hand comes down upon his shoulder and he looks to see who it is attached to. A shy girl, dressed in a slim black dress with a golden belt, blonde hair held up in a bun that allows curled hair to escape, smiles at him and asks him to dance. He smiles back and accepts, taking her hand to lead her onto the ballroom floor, and when he looks back to where the red head was standing, she's gone.

**2**

The second time he sees her, her hair is dyed blonde and hangs loosely around her shoulders and her lips are glossy and pink. He spots her at the cafe across the street from him and he stops in his tracks, taking her in. She appears relaxed, reclined in a chair outside of the cafe with a book in her hand and a mug on the table. A large umbrella is shading her from the sun and she seems engrossed in her reading, not taking her eyes off her page as she reaches over to bring the mug to her lips. He watches as she takes a sip, licking her lips as she places the mug back on the saucer before reaching down to turn the page.

He wants to walk over, sit down beside her in the empty chair and say hello, ask her how she is and what her name is. He wants to find out what she likes, what she dislikes, if maybe he could buy her another coffee and they could talk a while longer.

People are spilling around him on the pavement, some of them shoving him as they grumble under their breath about his stock still frame taking up the path. He moves out of the way, steps forward towards the curb and debates walking across the road and along the path until he's by her side, but someone shoves by him, almost knocking him off balance. It takes him a moment before he regains himself and when he looks back over towards the cafe, she's gone, the only thing left behind to tell him she was there being the empty mug on the table.

**3**

He doesn't expect it, the third time they see each other. He's taking down enemy agents, firing arrows into their bodies and watching as they fall to the ground, helpless. It's dark and raining, his hair dripping water into his eyes and his trousers soaked through.

He almost misses her, she's moving so fast, but the flash of red across the muddy field catches his eye and when his eyes follow the trail, he sees her. Her hair is cut short this time, back to its original colour and curling at the ends and bouncing as she wraps her thighs around a man and flips him over onto the ground and into the mud. He can almost hear the sound of the man’s head thumping on the floor and he watches, fascinated, as she continues to take out the enemy. She's quick and efficient, not wasting time as she guns them down or uses weapons he hasn't seen before.

For a moment he almost forgets he's in a war zone, that he's meant to be fighting, but as another agent attempts to sneak up behind her, he aims his bow at the ready before letting the arrow fly across the night sky and land in the man’s head, making him slump to the floor. She turns around, seemingly unfazed and looks up to where he is perched on one of the buildings. He's sure she can't see him, not in this darkness with the rain making it even harder to see, but he feels pinned in place, as if she's looking straight at him. He watches her smile, eyes seeming to shine, even from this distance, and then watches her walk away, disappearing into the shadows.

**4**

The fourth time he sees her, her face is on paper within a file that has been handed to him by his superiors. The sheet tells him her name is Natasha Romanoff, codename Black Widow, and that she is a Russian spy working for the KGB and he feels his muscles tense at the information. He makes sure to school his features, to keep a neutral and blank expression as his superiors tell him he is to go to Budapest and kill her.

**5**

The fifth time he sees her, her hair reaches her shoulders and her eyes are fierce, ablaze with fire and warning as her hand holds the gun steady and aimed at him. They are in a hotel room, the one he booked to be more specific, and he has just walked into the room and looked up to come face to face with the barrel of a gun. The door leading out into the hallway is still open and they are still frozen in time, unmoving from their given positions. He flicks his eyes up and away from the gun to look into her eyes and takes in her beautiful face and furrowed brow, the fine downward set to her lips. She's not wearing the skin tight black suit from before, but is now dressed casually in jeans and a beige jacket thrown over a grey, zip up hoodie. Even like this, she seems intimidating, poised to fight and grip on her gun unwavering.

He leans back slowly and takes the key out of the door, not taking his eyes off of her as he pushes the door shut with an audible click. He stands up straight and they continue their staring contest until he gains the courage to murmur, "Natasha Romanoff."

Her grip tightens ever so slightly and there's silence before she returns, "Clint Barton."

**+1**

"You mean to tell me you didn't kill your target?"

He is sitting at the end of the bed in his hotel room, phone pressed to his ear and television on mute as the images flicker on the screen and cast a glow around the room. The bedside lamp is still on, casting a golden glow around the small room and it makes him feel warm compared to the chill of the air outside.

"No," he tells his superiors, casting his eyes towards the door as it opens and shuts again, the smell of fast food wafting over to him as she comes into view from the corridor that leads into the main room, plastic bags held in each of her hands. She arches her eyebrow at him before coming over to place the bags beside him on the bed, taking out the food containers and laying them out so that his food is beside his hip.

"And may I ask, Agent Barton, why you didn't?"

She looks at him then and he looks back, holding her gaze and allowing himself to drown in the sea green of her eyes and the corners of her lips tilt up into a small but genuine smile.

"I couldn't," he states simply and he can almost hear the frustration from the other end of the line before he hears Nick Fury speak into his ear. He listens intently, gaze still lingering on her face even after she's turned away to grab the remote and settle herself back against the headboard to flick through the channels on the television.

Once Fury has finished speaking, he nods his head and murmurs, "Okay," before hanging up and settling himself beside her on the bed, his back resting against the headboard as he reaches down to place his food in his lap. She turns the volume up on the television but keeps it low, eyes trained on the characters moving across the screen.

He reaches down and takes a bite out of the burger she got him, chewing for a moment and then swallowing before he says, "We have a mission tomorrow."

He glances over at her from the corner of his eye. Her eyes are still watching the show playing across the television screen but her lips tilt up into a smirk as she replies, "Sounds like fun."

**Author's Note:**

> come follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/RainbowRandoms) and [tumblr](http://rainbow-randomness.tumblr.com/)


End file.
